


The Pact

by CeceTA



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Confession, F/M, Sabotage, marriage pact, plagg is chaotic neutral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 06:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19420543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeceTA/pseuds/CeceTA
Summary: After making a marriage pact with Marinette, Adrien goes out of his way to sabotage any potential relationships she could have.





	The Pact

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story is a prize for BloodyLeia from Miraculous Amino for winning a challenge hosted by the Challenge Team.

An audible sigh slowly escaped Adrien’s lips as he plopped down onto one of the many benches in his school’s courtyard. He dropped his bag on the ground, a small thump resounding on impact. Frustratedly, he ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm down, causing his hair to become mussed and messy as strands began to stick out in a plethora of directions. 

Recently, Adrien had been trying to move on from Ladybug. After the double date at the ice rink had failed, he wasn’t sure how easy it would be. Months had passed since, and he still felt too attached to his lady—although he _was_ less infatuated than _before_.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Adrien lifted his head from his hands and glanced up to his right to see Marinette, a small smile on her face and a light blush coating her cheeks. Of _course_ she’d be concerned about him; she was always looking out for people like that. It was one of the many traits he admired about her, and that reminded him of his lady. 

“Not really,” he mumbled, smiling in a self-deprecating way. He shuffled along the bench and patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit down.

“Is it anything I might be able to help with?” She questioned as she sat down on the wooden bench, an expression of concern written upon her face as she shifted toward him. 

Adrien thought about it for a few seconds before letting out a heavy sigh and shaking his head in response. “I don’t think so. It’s not exactly the type of thing you can sort out just like that,” he continued, clicking his fingers at the word ‘that’.

In his peripheral vision, Adrien watched as Marinette bit her lip in contemplation. It seemed like she wasn’t going to stop trying to improve his mood. 

“Do you want to talk about it? That could possibly help.”

“I guess so,” he muttered, turning his body so that it was angled toward her, hands clasping and unclasping in his lap as he tried to quell the anxiety building within.

“Well, there’s this girl I work with,” he slowly began, taking in a deep breath of air as he tried to figure out how to phrase his words in a way that made sense. “I’ve liked her since the start of the school year, but I’ve been trying to move on for a while now because she doesn’t like me back.”

“Kagami?” Marinette questioned, receiving a shake of the head from the blond beside her. 

“No. She’s who I tried to move on _to_. I can’t see myself in a relationship with her, though. She’s got such a big personality and, honestly, I don’t think I could keep up.”

“Oh,” she quietly breathed, gears turning in her mind as she tried to figure out the identity of this mystery girl. Who else had Adrien ever shown an interest in?

“But like I said, I’ve been trying to move on. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t feel the same way about me, so it’s time I let those feelings go.” Adrien continued again, slumping back in his seat as he ran a hand through his hair in aggravation, messing his hair up even more. 

“Is it not going well?” Marinette inquired after a moment of hesitation, unsure of what to say to him. He shook his head again. 

“I,” she began, taking a deep breath. “I kinda get how you feel.”

Immediately, his head snapped towards her and his eyes widened in surprise. “How could anybody not like you?” He questioned, genuinely bewildered. Marinette shrugged, trying to hide the slight blush rising to her cheeks. 

After a minute or so of silence between them, an idea sprung into Adrien’s mind. He was sure that it’d end up being unnecessary. He snapped his fingers as his lips curled into a grin, catching Marinette’s attention. 

“How about we make a pact?”

She pulled a face at that before giggling into her hand. “What kind of pact?”

“One that says that if neither of us are married by the time we’re thirty-five, we marry each other,” he explained. Marinette raised a brow at that. “I don’t think we’ll ever need to act on it, but it’s still a fun thing to have anyway.”

“I suppose so,” she responded, humming in contemplation. After a few moments, she nodded her head. “Okay. Shall we shake on it?”

“Sure,” he replied, holding out his hand. Marinette reached out her own, smiling as she shook Adrien’s hand and sealed the pact. 

꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

Adrien was currently sprawled out on his bed, stomach down. One of his arms dangled off the edge, his fingers curling and uncurling rhythmically as he tried to distract himself from his thoughts.

Frustratedly, he grabbed his pillow and smushed his face into it, letting out a loud groan that was muffled by the fabric.

Ever since he’d made that pact with Marinette, he couldn’t stop thinking about her! She plagued his thoughts and haunted his dreams. The fact that they had a marriage pact only made his heart race even faster.

Images of her constantly flashed in his mind. Marinette in a beautiful white dress and a veil; Marinette smiling at him as they cuddled and watched a movie together; Marinette running around the garden, chasing after three young children.

He was falling for her, and falling hard. 

“At least you’ve finally moved on,” Plagg stated as he hovered above him, gulping down the last of his camembert wheel. “You’d better not talk about this girl as much, though. I’ve had enough of ‘Ladybug this’ and ‘Ladybug that’ to last a _lifetime_ ,” he continued, putting on a high pitch voice as he fakely imitated his holder. 

Adrien rolled over, clutching the pillow in his arms as he stared up at the ceiling. All of a sudden, he sat up, his eyes widening as he realised the implications of the pact. 

“That pact is gonna stop me from having a chance with her!” He exclaimed, flopping back down. “It made it sound like a last resort; like I’m not interested in her at all!”

“Well, you weren’t at the time.”

“ _Not_ helpful!” 

Plagg let out a loud sigh as he landed on the pillow next to the blond boy’s head. “There’s a solution to that. All you’ve gotta do is make sure that she doesn’t get into any relationships, and that the relationships she does end up in don’t last.”

Adrien contemplated it for a moment. Plagg wasn’t exactly wrong. If Marinette didn’t end up in a relationship with someone, there would be no way that she’d end up marrying someone else, meaning the pact would have to be enacted. 

“Plagg, you’re a genius!”

“Wait what?” Plagg questioned, eyes widening. “I was joking!”

“All I’ve gotta do is sabotage her relationships so that I can swoop in and make her head-over-heels in love with me!”

“You’re being borderline possessive there, but okay,” the cat kwami relented, flying over to his food stash. “I’m gonna need more cheese to survive through this _madness_.”

꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

“You’re definitely in love with Alya now and have no plans to fall for Marinette again, right?”

Nino choked on his drink—coughing for a few seconds—before raising an eyebrow in response to his best friend’s sudden question, confused as to why he’d ask such a thing. 

“Of course I am,” he replied, casting a glance behind him at the aforementioned girl. They’d been together for a few months now. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing,” Adrien replied, leaning back in his seat and trying to act as nonchalant as possible. It seemed it wasn’t quite working, as evidenced by Nino’s look of skepticism.

Adrien followed Nino’s line of sight as it flickered back behind them, hoping that he wouldn’t figure out his reasoning. 

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with that pact, would it?”

Dang it!

“Maybe,” he mumbled, trying to look anywhere else than beside or behind him.

Nino shuffles along the bench until he was right next to the green-eyed teen and leant towards him to whisper into his ear. “Have you finally fallen for Marinette?”

Adrien’s bright red face gave him away instantly. Nino started to laugh as he moved back to his side of the bench, ignoring the mock-glare Adrien was sending his way. 

After Nino calmed down and caught his breath, he slapped a hand on Adrien’s back. “Don’t worry, dude. I’ve moved on now.”

Adrien sighed in relief, thankful that that was one person out of the way. He just had to make sure that nobody else was interested in Marinette, and then everything would turn out great.

꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

Everything went without a hitch for a few months in which Adrien tried to subtly show his feelings for a certain blue-eyed beauty. He knew how jumpy she could be around him and didn’t want to possibly scare her away. 

And then Nathaniel happened.

“I’d love to!”

Adrien—who was currently on his way out of the school after fencing class—stopped in his tracks at the familiar voice, glancing up at the top of the stairs. Marinette and Nathaniel had just walked out of the art classroom and seemed to be mid-conversation. 

Trying not to be spotted, Adrien hid under the stairs, listening in as they continued to talk. Their voices were slightly muffled by the clang of metal as their feet hit the steps, but he could still hear them clearly enough to know what they were saying. 

“So we’ll meet up at my place?” Marinette questioned, no doubt wearing that radiant smile of hers. 

“That sounds great!” Nathaniel responded. “I’ll meet you there about an hour after school tomorrow.”

Meeting up? After school? Were—were they talking about a date?!

Adrien worriedly bit his lip as he continued to listen in, his heart racing as a spike of fear shot through his heart. He knew he was jealous, and there was no point trying to deny it. 

He needed to figure out a plan, and fast. If he waited too long, Nathaniel could sweep her off her feet and then all of Adrien’s hopes and dreams would be crushed and—

“Kid, stop freaking out!” Plagg whisper-shouted from his collar where he’d poked his head out. “If you can't think of anything, I’ll just cataclysm him for you.”

“No you will not!” Adrien whisper-shouted back. Sometimes, Plagg’s chaotic neutral tendencies were good, but this was definitely not one of those times. “I’ll figure something out… eventually.”

[C]꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

A determined glint shone in Adrien’s eyes as he arrived at school the next morning. After brainstorming with Plagg—who had endlessly reminded him of his destructive powers—for a while, they’d managed to come up with a simple yet effective plan. 

The form of sabotage they’d chosen wouldn’t hurt anyone, of course. Adrien may have been desperately in love with Marinette by now, but resorting to threats and violence was not the way to win her heart at all. Unlike Plagg, Adrien’s moral alignment was in no way chaotic.

As he paced up the metal steps and towards the art room, he made sure to glance around him. As expected, hardly anyone had actually arrived at school yet. Adrien had specifically requested to be taken in early for a ‘last-minute prep lesson’ for ‘a test he had later’.

Glancing around one last time when he reached the room, he slowly opened the door and poked his head inside to check if anyone was in there. Thankfully, nobody was inside. 

Briskly, Adrien speed-walked over to the cupboard and began to search for what he needed. The problem was that he hardly spent any time in here so he had no idea where anything was kept!

“Aha!” He exclaimed when he found what he was looking for, pulling out a palette and a few small tubes of paint which he then stuffed into his bag, making sure that the lids were firmly screwed on the paint tubes first. 

_‘Step one: complete.’_

꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

Thankfully, Adrien had managed to successfully carry around the items he borrowed all day without anyone seeing them. When he’d accidentally kicked over his bag at the start of class, he’d been momentarily panicked and had scrambled to shove everything back in the bag.

In the present moment, Adrien waited nearby the art classroom with his phone in his hand, trying not to look suspicious. He’d seen Nathaniel enter the art room a few minutes ago and was waiting to enact his plan. 

Glancing down at the time, he decided that it’d be best if he prepared. After placing his phone back in his pocket, Adrien quickly glanced around him before reaching a hand into his bag and pulling out the palette and paints, opening the paint tubes and squirting some onto the palette. 

A flash of red caught his eye. 

_‘Just in time.’_

Walking forward and hiding the smirk that his lips threatened to curl into, Adrien paced over to the red-haired boy, making sure to be directly in his path. 

Nathaniel—who wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings—didn’t see Adrien coming until it was too late. 

The boys slammed into each other, the palette landing directly on Nathaniel’s shirt. 

“I am so sorry! I was returning this to the art room and I didn’t see you coming.” Adrien exclaimed as Nathaniel looked down at his shirt and winced. Adrien had ‘accidentally’ knocked into him, holding the palette at an angle that meant that the paint had splattered on Nathaniel’s shirt. 

“Dang it,” Nathaniel muttered, grimacing as he thought about the stain the paint might leave. “I’ll have to let her know I can’t make it.”

At those quiet words, Adrien’s heart kept with joy. He wouldn’t be able to make it to the date anymore! His plan had actually worked!

“Sorry.” Adrien apologised again, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. 

“It’s okay,” Nathaniel responded. “I’ll probably be able to get this off.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Adrien nodded his head at that before briskly walking past the artistic boy and placing the stuff back in the art room. After making sure that nobody was looking, he let out a shout of victory. 

Little did he know, Nathaniel was only meeting with Marinette (and Marc) for help with designing outfits for the characters of their new comic book. He wasn’t even romantically interested in the blue-eyed girl anymore!

꒰───── ⋆♥︎⋆ ─────꒱

The next morning, two rapid and soft touches tapped Adrien’s shoulder, catching his attention as he stopped walking through the locker room after closing his locker. He pivoted on his heel to see Marinette stood behind him, a mix of emotions displayed in her expression. 

“I know what you’ve been doing,” she informed him, crossing her arms. Her expression because more hurt as a few confused tears began to shine in the corners of her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed at her words. “Doing what?”

She exasperatedly threw her arms into the air and let out a large sigh. “You’ve been trying to keep other guys away from me! You spoke to Nino the other day, you spilled paint on Nathaniel and this guy that asked me out yesterday came up to me earlier this morning and told me he wasn’t interested anymore!”

“Oh,” Adrien breathed, taking in a deep breath. “I’m really sorry. I should probably explain, shouldn’t I?”

The expression on Marinette’s face was enough to answer that question. 

“Okay so…” he began, clenching and unclenching his fists as he thought of how to phrase his words. “Ever since we made that pact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. It took me a while, but I soon realised it’s because I have a crush on you.”

“What?” She whispered, almost inaudibly. A bright blush bloomed on her cheeks and her eyes widened in shock. 

“But because of said pact, if you were to get into another relationship, it’d ruin my chances with you,” he explained, smiling sheepishly as his cheeks also turned red. “So I said and did a few things so that the pact would eventually be enacted. It was such a dumb thing to do, and I feel really guilty about all of it. I hope you won’t hate me because of it.”

“Hate you? I could never!” She exclaimed, silence hanging over them for a few seconds after as she hesitated to speak more. “Remember that unrequited love I was telling you about on the day we made the pact?”

“Yeah.”

“I was talking about the fact that I’m in love with you.”

Adrien’s cheeks felt like they were on fire as he absorbed the information, breath shakily exhaling from his lungs as he realised that every action he’d done over the last few days was all for nothing. He didn’t need to win her over; she was already in love with him!

“I’m such an idiot,” he chuckled, a self-deprecating laugh bubbling from his throat as he slapped a hand to his forehead and let out a groan of annoyance.

A small tinkling sound joined Adrien’s laugh as Marinette giggled into her hand, causing Adrien’s heart to beat rapidly as he noticed once again how adorable she was. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologised again, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “Do… do you still feel the same way now?”

Marinette nodded, bringing a smile to Adrien’s face. Overcome with emotion, he paced forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up into a twirling hug and causing her to let out a small shriek of protest. 

When her feet landed on the ground again, Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his chest, letting out a content sigh as he embraced her back. 

Adrien placed a feather-light kiss to her forehead and she buried her face into his shirt, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

“So about that pact. Is there any way to enact it early?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment what you thought of this fic.


End file.
